Updates and News archive

Les Liaisons Dangereux

A script-in-hand performance of Christopher Hampton's adaptation of Choderlos de Laclos' scandalous novel, Les Liaisons Dangereux.

The play premiered by the RSC in 1985 in The Other Place and went on to be a hit in the West End and on Broadway.

The performance was followed by an on-stage question and answer session (pictured) with Director Gérald Garutti, Christopher Hampton and West End producer Kim Poster.

Mark Ravenhill Weekend

On a Saturday in July, the writer directed script-in-hand performances of Peter Nichols' Poppy, set in the 19th century opium wars, and Fashion by Doug Lucie, a satire of the world of political spin.

On Sunday, Mark was invited to explore our extensive back catalogue of work and select plays which he finds particularly exciting.

At the end of the the year it was announced that Mark will join the RSC as Writer in Residence in 2012.

Silly Plays by Lady Dramatists

Award-winning playwright Tanika Gupta hosted a weekend celebrating groundbreaking plays by female playwrights produced by the RSC.

Only 15% of Shakespeare's characters are female occupying 17% of stage time. We still see a similar ratio on our stages across the theatre industry. Tanika opens up the back catalogue of work by female playwrights at the RSC.

The Swan and the Lost Library of Jacobethan Plays

Chief Associate Director Gregory Doran marked the 25th anniversary of the opening of the Swan Theatre by celebrating some of the lost Elizabethan and Jacobean classics that the theatre has brought back to life.

In Conversation: Terry Hands

Terry Hands joined the RSC in 1966 to run its outreach programme TheatreGoRound. He subsequently ran the Aldwych and was made Joint Artistic Director with Trevor Nunn and Deputy Chief Executive in 1978.

He became Director and Chief Executive in 1986 until leaving after 25 years in 1991.

Photo: Terry Hands (right) in conversation with RSC Chief Associate Director Gregory Doran (centre) and actor Alan Howard (left). 

Singer - Peter Flannery

A script in hand performance of Flannery's play which was first performed by the RSC in 1989.

The writer himself made a brief appearance as the play's old woman, who can be seen on the left in a headscarf.

Theatremakers with Hammers

The RSC is home to some of the most skilled costume, set and prop makers in the world.

This event, in September, was an opportunity to meet some of those people and explore some of the strangest and most beautiful things they have made over the last 50 years.

Photo: RSC Head of Costume Alistair McArthur talks through some of the company's costumes.

A Celebration: The Life and Adventures of Nicholas Nickleby

David Edgar, one of our most politically incisive playwrights, was invited by Trevor Nunn in 1980 to adapt Charles Dickens' Nicholas Nickleby. He created an eight-hour tour-de-force which played over two consecutive nights.

The play began life in 1980 at The Aldwych, the RSC's London base at the time, before going on to be a Broadway hit.

Original cast members attending the reunion event included Timothy Spall, Suzanne Bertish, Patrick Godfrey, Emily Richard, Christopher Benjamin, David Threlfall, Julie Peasgood and Edward Petherbridge, as well as others involved in bringing this iconic production to life.

Photo shows members of the original Nicholas Nickleby cast dancing on stage. At the centre is playwright David Edgar dancing with Timothy Spall.

On stage event: A Cruel Morning with Anthony Neilson

Fresh from the opening of Marat/Sade, Director Anthony Neilson discussed the Theatre of Cruelty and its legacy to British theatre.

The photo shows, from left to right, the RSC's Head of Production Simon Marsden, RSC Literary Manager Pippa Hill and Anthony Neilson on the Marat/Sade set in the Royal Shakespeare Theatre.

Play reading: The Hang of the Gaol by Howard Barker

October brought a script-in-hand performance of Howard Barker's bruising play about corruption in a British prison.

An exposing study in guilt and collusion, this play was first performed by the RSC at the Warehouse Theatre in London in 1978.

A Celebration: Educating Rita by Willy Russell

Educating Rita was commissioned and premiered by the RSC in 1980. In this event Willy Russell told the story of how his play made it onto the stage at the RSC and went on to become one of the nation's best loved tales.

Photo: Willy Russell in conversation with RSC Dramaturg Jeanie O'Hare.

Howard Davies: the Place, The Other Place and the Warehouse

Director Howard Davies was the catalyst for big changes at the RSC. The (Donmar) Warehouse first opened in 1976, modelled on The Other Place in Stratford-upon-Avon, under his visionary leadership.

The Warehouse played host to some of the most important and urgent new plays of the 1970s and 1980s.

In November, Howard (right) talked about his work with the Royal Court Theatre's Literary Manager, Chris Campbell (left).

In Conversation: Adrian Noble

The Artistic Director from 1990 to 2003 talked about his time with the company, in the Swan Theatre in November.  

In Conversation: Trevor Nunn

The final RSC 50 event of the year saw an evening of great conversation between the former Artistic Director of the RSC (1968-1986) and Genista McIntosh.